1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a crystal oriented ceramic composite body and a piezoelectric/electrostrictive element.
2. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
European Patent Publication No. 1972606 discloses the manufacture of a crystal oriented ceramic using a template of particles of lead zirconate titanate (hereinafter referred to as “PZT”) in which the crystalline orientation is determined in advance. Furthermore, European Patent Publication No. 1972606 discloses that a crystal oriented ceramic manufactured in this manner exhibits superior piezoelectric/electrostrictive characteristics.
Piezoelectric/electrostrictive materials preferably exhibit a large amount of deformation relative to an applied electrical field intensity. However, the conventional crystal oriented ceramics can not meet expectations in this regard sufficiently.